Lacasse, a resident of Inukjuak, Quebec, said that the whales are stuck in the ice about an hour from that community, in the east side of Hudson Bay, and have been since Monday. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the Hudson Bay region is more or less frozen solid at this time of year.

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, killer whales are native to that region of Hudson Bay, though Alaskan populations of orcas tend to move south with the sea ice as winter sets in.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that a polar bear wandering near the killer whales' breathing hold was killed, and that the whales are too far from open water to swim out on their own. That means a rescue by icebreaker -- like that 1988 incident near Barrow, Alaska -- may be in order.